<g>, I had boss or two in my first thirty years (not all by any means) who would occasionally say "Now, Bob, I want you to do this task, but I don't want you to write a program to do it - just do it". From this you would be justified in surmising that I like programming, and often write something to make the task go faster next time.
When that happened I sometimes just did it, but other times I'd take a little extra time and figure out how to code it, maybe on my own time and maybe not. To some extent it is to this kind of calculated disobedience that I attribute what I am today, working for clients who ~value~ the tools I create for myself and others. I don't blame those old bosses for not being sure of the benefit. But I don't try too hard to feel guilty for making up my own mind about it, either. Nowadays I'm better off. When a PM said that to me a few years ago, I was in a position to tell him "With respect, I won't delegate that decision to you. You folks hired me to do the best job for you. This is my expertise; I'll decide whether it's better to write a utility for this or Just Do It." He and I fought a lot, but we respected each other too and we got a ton of work done for the client during that tumultuous time. Mostly, as you say, bosses ~like~ it when you expand your abilities. --- Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313 /* See everything. Overlook a great deal. Improve a little. -Pope John XXIII */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Jon Perryman Sent: Monday, August 14, 2023 17:30 ....yearly performance review when they discuss advancement? Every manager I had discusses personal and job growth which included at least 1 self-improvement item. Do you feel the need to go behind their backs when there is something that you want to learn? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
